


1000 Paper Cranes

by SharkGirl



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: 1000 Paper Cranes, Fluff, Implied Akashi Seijuurou/Furihata Kouki, Implied Kagami Taiga/Kuroko Tetsuya, Implied Midorima Shintarou/Takao Kazunari, Implied Murasakibara Atsushi/Himuro Tatsuya, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-15
Updated: 2015-07-15
Packaged: 2018-04-09 10:20:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4344749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SharkGirl/pseuds/SharkGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While on his way to the monthly GoM meet-up, Kise finds a perfectly folded paper crane on the ground in the train station.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1000 Paper Cranes

**Author's Note:**

> I know I said my first AoKise would be hot...but this is actually just cute. ^^ I'll write a sexy one later~
> 
> No beta on this one. Though, I did have my sister read part of it (before I was finished)

Kise Ryouta hummed happily to himself as the train slowed to a stop.  He gripped the magazine in his hands tighter as he disembarked.  He was very proud of this one.  Sure, Kise had been in a lot of magazines before, but this was the very first time he’d been featured on the cover.  This month’s theme was ‘Teen Sports,’ so his agent wasn’t surprised when he had been chosen for the cover shot.  She giggled at his shock with a simple, ‘Who else, Ryou-kun?’

He smiled, glancing down at the photo again.  He wasn’t one to toot his own horn.  Alright, yes he was.  And he was going to toot to the heavens.  This was, by far, the best picture he’d ever had taken.  He’d even been allowed to wear his own Kaijou jersey for the photo.  The other models featured inside were wearing costumes because most of them had never picked up a basketball, let alone played on a sports team.

Kise was even more excited because today was their monthly meet-up.  Ever since the Winter Cup, the Generation of Miracles would meet up at Maji Burger to check in and catch up on what the others were up to.  Of course, it was never just the Kiseki.  Kuroko always brought Kagami, who, if they were all honest, was truly an honorary member as it was.  Midorima never went anywhere without Takao.  Kise was sure that Murasakibara wouldn’t show up at all if not for Himuro dragging him down from up north.  And Akashi always seemed to bump into that one first year from Seirin on his way to the meeting.  Kise couldn’t think of the twitchy teen’s name, but he remembered that he played pretty well, all shakes and convulsions considered.

He was nearly out of the station when something on the ground caught his eye.  It wasn’t particularly crowded around him, so he crouched down to get a better look.  It was a perfectly folded paper crane.  The edges were straight and the paper looked crisp as though the person folding it had done so perfectly on the first try.  He wondered if they had folded it out of sheer boredom while waiting for someone.  But he couldn’t imagine someone carelessly tossing such a perfectly folded crane onto the ground.  He picked it up and put it on top of a nearby recycling bin, hoping that the person who lost it would find it there.  He couldn’t risk it getting trampled by the midday rush, after all.

This particular Maji Burger location was only a few blocks from the train station.  They didn’t always meet at the same one, because that wasn’t really fair to those who had to commute to Tokyo.  This one was only a few stops away from Kaijou.

When Kise walked in, he was surprised to see Aomine already seated with a tray full of burgers in front of him.  Kise had made sure to time it so he’d be fashionably late, but he never expected the blue-haired man to beat him here.

“Ah, Aominecchi,” Kise greeted and then looked around.  The Touou ace was sitting by himself, though another tray with a salad and a bottle of mineral water alluded to the presence of at least one other member.  “Where is everyone?” the blond asked, without receiving a greeting from his ex-teammate.  But just as navy eyes slid over to acknowledge his presence, a cheery voice broke the silence.

“Ki-chan!” Momoi smiled as she walked toward the table.

“Hey there, Momocchi,” his face brightened.  Out of all of his ex-classmates, she was the one he got along with the most.  At least, he thought so.  “Where is everyone?”

“I’m not sure,” she said as she took her seat across from Aomine.  “And to think I got Dai-chan here on time and everything,” she giggled.  Kise laughed, too, but Aomine did not seem amused as he took another burger from his pile and grabbed his drink.

“They did say two o’clock, right?” Kise asked, checking his watch.

“It’s two thirty,” Aomine said gruffly, not bothering to take the straw out of his mouth.

“My, my, Aominecchi, you seem to be in a mood,” Kise teased.  “Did you wake him up from his nap to drag him here, Momocchi?” he asked with a chuckle.  Again, the blue-haired man was not amused.  Navy eyes glared up at him, but Kise seemed impervious.

“Well,” Momoi put a finger to her chin, “Tetsu-kun sent me a text saying that he and Kagamin got caught up doing something ‘very important’,” she quoted.  “Of course, his messages are usually so well-composed and this one had a few typos…” she waggled her eyebrows and Kise felt his cheeks heat up.  Choosing to ignore what the ‘very important’ business might be, he cleared his throat.

“And the others?” he finally took the open seat next to Aomine.

“Midorin messaged something about tomorrow’s Lucky Item only being sold at store a few blocks down, so I’m sure he’ll be here soon,” she went on.  “As for Mukkun and Akashi-kun, I can’t say,” she sighed.  “Of course, they have to travel the farthest.”

“That’s true,” Kise sighed.  He was really looking forward to showing everyone his cover photo.  But, he supposed showing the two of them would suffice until the others arrived.  “Anyway, that makes you two the lucky ones,” he held out the magazine for them to see.  Momoi looked excited, while Aomine just raised an eyebrow and slurped loudly from his soda.  He peered down at his cup and stood up.  Momoi frowned up at him.  They locked eyes for a moment and then he turned.

“Refill,” he mumbled against the straw as he walked over to the counter.

“What’s eating him?” Kise pouted.

“Don’t mind him, Ki-chan,” Momoi waved her hand in dismissal.  “Dai-chan is always cranky when I interrupt his naps.”

“You two are really close, huh?” the blond mused, but he wasn’t looking at her.  His eyes were trained on the tall, tanned man leaning over the counter and shamelessly flirting with the well-endowed cashier.  “Doesn’t that kind of stuff make you jealous?” he pointed his chin toward the scene at the counter.

“We’re not that close,” she deadpanned and rolled her eyes.  “He’s more like a big brother,” she went on and then paused, “scratch that, he’s more like a little brother.”

“Is that so?” Kise laughed and turned back toward her.  Just then, they heard a crash.  Kise turned to see Aomine bent over a trashcan and the trays that had been on top scattered all over the floor.  “Aominecchi, what happened?!” golden eyes were wide.  The other man grumbled to himself as bent down to pick up the trays, but the girl from the counter was already there, cleaning up the mess.

“Thank you,” he said in a voice so sweet it couldn’t have possibly been his, before he walked back over to the table.

“Aominecchi is surprisingly clumsy!” Kise laughed and slapped the other man on the back when he sat down.

“Maybe if he wasn’t craning his neck to watch those girls walk by outside,” the pink-haired girl crossed her arms over her chest.

“And Momocchi is unsurprisingly observant,” the blond chuckled.

“Was it worth it to make a fool of yourself, Dai-chan?” she huffed.

“70G and 75H,” he responded with a grin.  “So, yes.”

“Uh,” Kise began awkwardly, trying to break the tension.  “Speaking of cranes,” he continued and the two looked over at him in confusion.  “I saw the mostly perfectly folded origami crane in the train station on my way here.”

“Was it on display?” Momoi asked, forgetting her childhood friend’s folly if only for a moment.

“No, it was just lying on the ground as if someone had dropped it,” the blond explained.

“How unusual,” she drew her brows together.

“Yeah, I didn’t think someone would just throw it away like that, so I put it up where they would see it,” he reached over for one of Aomine’s fries, ignoring the growl from the tan man.  “I mean, if they come back looking for it, that is.”

“Paper cranes are so romantic,” Momoi sighed and finally began eating her salad.

“They are, aren’t they?” Kise agreed, again ignoring whatever noise of disgust came from the man on his left.  “And this one was folded so perfectly,” he went on.  “I’d love to learn how to do that.”

“Dai-chan knows how to fold them,” she chirped, pointing her fork at him.

“Aominecchi does?” his eyes widened in surprise.  Aomine grunted and continued to work on his mountain of burgers.

“Yes,” Momoi dabbed her mouth with a napkin.  “Have you ever heard the legend surrounding paper cranes?” she asked.

“I remember learning about that little girl who tried folding one thousand paper cranes in order to cure her illness,” the blond put a finger to his chin.  “But I don’t know much more than that.”

“Well,” Momoi leaned closer, “the legend says that if you fold a thousand paper cranes while making a wish, a great crane will grant it,” she giggled.  “Dai-chan’s grandpa told us that story when we were little and we were so determined to make our dreams come true.”

“And did you fold that many?” Kise leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.

“No,” she shook her head.  “I never could figure out how to fold them properly and Dai-chan gave up after about eight or nine stating that it was ‘boring’ and he’d much rather be playing street ball,” she covered her mouth as she laughed.

“That sounds like Aominecchi,” the blond turned toward him.  Aomine glared up at him and then went back to his burger.

“Well, he did start folding them again,” Momoi said, spearing some lettuce with her fork.  “I think it was around our second year of middle school.”

“Oh?” Kise turned back toward Aomine.  “Did Aominecchi have a wish he wanted granted?” he hummed.  “Perhaps to be better than a certain new-comer who could copy his every move?”  The tan man nearly choked on his sandwich.

“As if,” he growled.  “I don’t need some legendary crane’s help kicking your ass, Kise.”

“Ah, then what did Aominecchi wish for?” the blond batted his eyelashes.  Aomine turned away, but Kise could have sworn his cheeks had tinted just a bit.

“He hasn’t finished yet,” Momoi answered for him.  “Although, last time I checked, he said he was at nine-hundred and ninety-seven.”

“Wow, Aominecchi!” Kise gaped.  “You’re almost done!”  He grumbled again, something unintelligible.  “Please teach me to fold a crane,” he suddenly asked.

“No,” came the simple response.

“It would get you closer to your goal,” he enticed.

“No way,” Aomine said, still not looking at him.

“You’d only have to show me once,” Kise stuck out his lower lip and made his eyes wide.

“Ugh, fine,” the navy-haired man snorted.  “If it’ll shut you up.”

“Yay!” Kise cheered and clapped his hands together.

“I’ll need a piece of paper,” Aomine raised his eyebrows.

“Oh, right,” the blond looked around, but he could only spot napkins and his magazine.  “Well, maybe one of the pages from the-” he began as he reached for the periodical, but Aomine snatched it from his hands, ripping off the cover page.  “Hey, Aominec-”

“Do you want me to show you or not?” he asked gruffly.  Kise closed his mouth, but couldn’t hide his frown.  He’d brought that magazine to show everyone his cover photo and now it was ruined.  Luckily, he had ten more copies at his house.  But still!

“Yes, sorry,” Kise said.  Then, Aomine’s surprisingly nimble fingers gingerly folded the paper, making sure all the edges were straight and crisp.  In a matter of minutes, the cover page was transformed into a perfectly folded crane.  “It’s beautiful,” golden eyes were wide.

“I’ve had a lot of practice,” the other man rubbed the back of his neck and then cleared his throat.  “Alright, Mr. Perfect Copy,” he said, “you’ve seen it, now let me finish eating.”  Kise held the delicate crane in his hands, afraid he’d damage it if he gripped too tightly.

“I’m surprised you’re not asking for it back, Dai-chan,” Momoi absently poked at a grape tomato in her bowl.  “You’re not going to let Ki-chan keep that, are you?”  At that, Kise raised an eyebrow.

“What’s wrong with me keeping it?” he frowned.  “He ruined my magazine to make it, after all.”

“Oh, sorry Ki-chan, I didn’t mean it like that,” Momoi set her fork down.  “It’s just that, in order for his wish to come true, he’s got to keep all of the cranes he makes until he’s finished.”

“Then,” Kise looked down at the origami bird, “here,” he held it out toward Aomine.  The other man ignored him.  “C’mon, take it,” the blond urged.  “You’re so close to finishing, it would be a waste.”  Aomine suddenly turned toward him, eyes widened just a fraction before his features returned to their normal passive, if not slightly annoyed, appearance.

“Uh, thanks,” he said, taking the bird and setting it on his tray.

“No problem,” Kise grinned.  “And, since you ruined my magazine that I was going to share with everyone,” the blond began, “I’ve thought of the perfect way for you to pay me back.”

“I should have seen this coming,” Aomine grumbled under his breath.  But before the model had a chance to extort the tan man into anything, he was interrupted by the door chime, signaling someone’s arrival.  The three turned and saw Midorima walking in clutching an owl statue in his left hand.

“Sorry we’re late,” Takao appeared behind the Shutoku ace.  He waved at them and then turned toward his partner.  “I’ll order our food, Shin-chan.”  Midorima nodded and walked over to the table, taking his seat.

“I’m surprised,” Midorima said, glancing over at Aomine.

“I know, I was shocked that Aominecchi beat everyone here, too,” Kise laughed and the navy-haired man rolled his eyes.

“No,” the bespectacled man pointed at the crane on Aomine’s tray.  “Today’s lucky item for Virgo,” he pulled his hand back and adjusted his glasses.  “I’m surprised that he followed Oha Asa’s horoscope for the day.”  Kise and Momoi tried, but failed miserably at stifling their laughter.

“Here we are,” Takao held a tray forward and set it down on the table before taking the open seat next to Midorima.  “So, what are we talking about?”

“Aomine has decided to follow Oha Asa,” Midorima answered.

“Is that right?” Takao turned toward the tanned man and let out a snicker.  Aomine growled low in his throat and continued staring down at his tray.  “By the way,” he changed the subject, “where is everyone else?”

“Well, I got a text from-” Momoi began, but was interrupted by the door chime.  They all turned to see a sweaty and slightly out of breath Kagami enter the restaurant, followed by Kuroko.

“Sorry we’re late,” he panted and brushed back sweaty bangs from his forehead.  Something about the pair’s appearance seemed slightly off.  Kagami’s shorts were on inside out for one.

“So, just what were you two doing that made you so late?” Takao waggled his eyebrows.

“One-on-one,” Kuroko answered simply and took a seat.  Kagami’s face turned three shades of red and he sputtered.

“Oi, Kuroko, you-”

“Vanilla shake, please, Kagami-kun,” he said and then turned toward the redhead.  Kagami blinked and then nodded before heading over to the counter.  “Please excuse our tardiness,” Kuroko bowed his head.

“One-on-one, huh?” Takao raised an eyebrow and winked at Kise.  The blond hid a small smile and draped his arm over Kuroko’s shoulders.

“Hey, Kurokocchi, that’s not fair,” he gave an over-exaggerated pout.  “You were late to meet us because you had to play with Kagamicchi?”

“He was quite insistent,” the shorter man answered in a deadpan.  Kise and Takao burst into laughter.  Momoi just blushed and averted her eyes.  Aomine and Midorima seemed to ignore the conversation, opting to eat instead.  Kagami returned a minute later.

“Here’s your shake,” he handed the cup to the shorter man and then sat across from him.  He unwrapped the first burger on his giant pile and started to eat.

“Wow, got enough hamburgers there, Kagami?” Takao smirked.  The redhead looked over with his mouth full and raised an eyebrow.

“Kagami-kun gets very hungry after rigorous physical activity,” Kuroko said as he slurped his milkshake.  Kise and Takao burst into fresh gales of laughter and Kagami nearly choked as he tried to swallow.

“Kuroko…!” split eyebrows drew down in embarrassed anger.  Kise shook his head with a smile.  Kuroko must have been pretty upset with Kagami for making them late and he was retaliating as best he could.

“You two are gross,” Aomine finally spoke.

“It is sad when one can’t keep his libido in check long enough to make scheduled meeting times,” Midorima agreed and pushed his glasses up his nose.

“You’re one to talk,” Kagami scowled.  “We saw you and Takao pulling up just before us.”

“We were procuring tomorrow’s lucky item, if you must know,” the green-haired man glared at Seirin’s ace over his lenses.

“Yeah, besides, we only made out a little bit on the way here,” Takao added, shoving a fry in his mouth.  Midorma’s eyes widened and he shot his boyfriend a death glare.  “Pot, kettle, Shin-chan,” he smirked.

“Where are Akashi-kun and Murasakibara-kun?” Kuroko asked, seemingly unaffected by the turn the conversation had taken.

“Well,” Momoi began, but she was interrupted by her phone’s message tone.  Magenta eyes scanned the screen before she looked back up at the group.  “Akashi-kun will not be joining us,” she said.

“What his excuse?” Kagami asked through a mouth full of meat and bun.

“Momoi,” she read aloud, “I regret to inform you that I am unable to make it to our scheduled meeting as the forecast calls for a severe thunderstorm this evening,” she paused.  “All trains leaving Tokyo Station have been cancelled and, in an effort to avoid being stranded, I have decided to return home now.”

“Wait, so he was here and he didn’t even stop by?” Aomine looked annoyed.

“Oh, he sent another message,” Momoi blinked in surprise.  “Please have Kuroko tell Kouki I’m sorry I couldn’t make it.”  She paused and looked over at Kuroko.  “Furihata, really?” she asked, disbelief showing on her delicate features.  Kuroko nodded with a small shrug, lips never leaving his straw.

“So, I guess that’s everyone,” Kise said and reached for his magazine.  Maybe his cover photo had been sacrificed, but he still had a few shots inside.  He was just about to show them off, when the door chimed yet again.

“We made it,” Himuro said as he walked into the restaurant.  “Sorry we’re a little late, but there was a sale at the convenience store…”

“I was hungry,” Mursakibara mumbled around a chip as he loped in after his teammate.

“A little late?” Aomine, having finished his burgers, turned and raised an eyebrow.  “It’s nearly three o’clock.” 

“Murasakibaracchi, didn’t you know we were meeting at a restaurant?” Kise offered.

“But I like this brand of chips,” he grabbed another and popped it in his mouth.

“I’m surprised you two made it,” Momoi added.  “Akashi-kun said there was going to be a big thunderstorm tonight and that all the trains out of Tokyo Station are cancelled.

“Ah, I guess we missed that weather report,” Himuro chewed his bottom lip.  “No matter,” he grinned.  “I’m sure Taiga will let us stay with him tonight.”

“Hey, just because Alex gets away with that, it doesn’t mean-”

“Well, it’s obvious you’ve already taken care of things and we won’t have anything to interrupt tonight, right Kuroko?” Himuro ignored his ‘brother’ and smiled at the shorter man.  Kagami’s face flushed bright red.

“Kuro-chin,” Murasakibara looked up from his bag of chips and raised an eyebrow.  “Why is your shirt on backwards?”

The rest of the meeting went pretty well.  They talked about practice and their coaches’ strategies that would ‘surely get them the number one spot’ during the next competition.  It was nice that they could all get together like this again.  Even Aomine, who had been a grouch from the beginning, was starting to laugh and talk with the others.

“Well, Shin-chan and I should be going,” Takao said after he came back from taking their trays to the trashcan.

“Gotta finish making out?” Kagami asked, attempting to tease them, but Takao only smiled and nodded in affirmation.  “You really have no shame,” the redhead mumbled, red-faced.

“We should be going, too, Taiga,” Himuro said, standing up.  “If it’s going to rain, we should hurry and catch the local line to your apartment.”

“I never said you could stay over,” the taller man frowned.

“C’mon Atsushi,” the other man ignored him.  “And I think tacos would be nice for dinner.”

“Are you listening to me?” Kagami called after him.  Kuroko waved ‘goodbye’ as he followed his boyfriend out of the restaurant.

“And then there were three,” Kise finished cleaning up the last few cups on the table.

“Actually,” Momoi toyed with some of her long pink hair.  “I’m meeting a friend for coffee in a bit,” she grabbed her phone and checked her messages.  “So, I’ll see you later, Ki-chan, Dai-chan,” she waved as she left.

“Well, see you later, Kise,” Aomine said as he stood up.

“Hey, hold on a second, Aominecchi,” the blond grabbed his arm.  “You still owe me for ruining my magazine,” he pouted.  The tanned man made a huge show of rolling his eyes as he let out a deep sign.

“What do you want, Kise?” he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

“Why,” the blond tilted his head to the side as he beamed, “one-on-one, of course.”

“No.”

“But you owe me!” Kise nearly shrieked.

“Oi, be quiet, will ya?” Aomine pushed passed him and walked out of the restaurant, but Kise was on his heels.

“I let you keep that crane,” the blond offered.  Aomine didn’t reply.  “That’s not fair, Aominecchi, after you ripped my cover photo right off of the-” his voice was muffled when he ran into the other man’s back.  He pulled away, rubbing his nose, which was slightly red from the sudden impact.

“Okay,” Aomine looked over his shoulder.  “But we’re playing at the court by my house.”  Kise brightened and reached into his bag, withdrawing a basketball.  “You just had that in your bag?”  The blond nodded.  “Of course you did…”

They walked to the train station, Kise tittering on and on about anything and everything and Aomine walking slightly ahead in silence with his hands in his pockets, trying very hard to pretend that they were not, in fact, together.

“I gotta take a leak,” Aomine said oh so eloquently when they made it to the station.  Kise smiled and waved him off, choosing to wait off to the side.  Then something caught his eye.  He looked over toward a recycle bin and saw the paper crane from earlier.  It was still perfectly folded and untouched.

“I guess they didn’t come back for it,” he mused as he picked up the delicate paper bird.  He gingerly turned it over in his hands, remembering exactly how he’d seen Aomine fold the other earlier in the restaurant.  He was certain he could copy that technique perfectly.  He thought for a moment about unfolding this crane and then returning it to its former glory, but the idea of deforming it for even one second seemed like a dishonor to the person who folded it.

“You ready?”  Suddenly Aomine was standing in front of him.  Kise quickly, but carefully, put the crane into his bag.  The Touou ace raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything.

The short train ride was much like the walk.  This time Kise was talking about a colleague of his that he’d seen advertising the newest smart phone on one of the panels next to the list of the stops inside the train.  Aomine had only spoken once, inquiring as to the size of the young lady’s rack, as it was not visible in the ad. Kise, faltering for just a moment, shook his head and continued talking about the time he and the aforementioned model had worked together.

It was still light out when they made it to the court.  Aomine grabbed Kise’s bag and fished the ball out, tossing the duffel to the side.  He dribbled lazily, digging his pinky into his ear, while he waited for Kise to change into his sneakers.

“First to ten?” the tan man asked, stifling a yawn.

“How about five?” the blond’s eyes flashed.  “I have a feeling it’ll be a close one today, Aominecchi,” he smirked.  Aomine rolled his eyes, but nodded.

The game was pretty evenly matched.  Kise had been steadily improving, after all.  Basketball was the one thing that he felt that, the more he tried, the better he got.  It was nice to be good at everything effortlessly, but basketball, and Aomine for that matter, posed a challenge and he loved it.

They were tied.  Four points each.  Kise had possession of the ball.  He dribbled it between his legs, sweat dripping down his face as he stared down his opponent.  Aomine was breathing heavily, sweating just as much.  Kise inwardly jumped for joy.  He loved awakening the lazy man’s competitive side.

Aomine lunged forward, attempting a steal, when, suddenly, a large cracking noise exploded just above them.  They’d been so focused on each other, that they hadn’t noticed the storm clouds rolling in.  Another boom erupted and, before either man had a chance to make a note about the weather, the sky opened up.

It was raining so hard that it was difficult to breathe.  They’d shoved the ball back into Kise’s bag and made a run for it, ducking beneath bus stop awnings to catch their breath before running off again in the direction of Aomine’s apartment.

Aomine grabbed his keys and unlocked the door, and both men shuffled inside.  They took off their soaked shoes and left them in the genkan.  Kise set his bag down and followed the taller man inside, trying desperately not to drip on the Aomine family’s tile.  The dark-haired man stopped at the counter and picked something up before looking over his shoulder.

“Looks like it’s just you and me,” he waved a small piece of notepaper at Kise before setting it back down.  “C’mon, let’s go to my room,” he said as he started to walk down the hall.  Kise followed, but stopped to read the note on the counter.

_‘Daiki, your father and I will be out until late tonight.  Please, please, PLEASE clean your room.  At least take out the trash.  Satsuki will be stopping by later with dinner unless you want to join the Momois next door.  Love you!  (Clean your room)  - Mom’_

“You coming?” Aomine poked his head around the corner and raised an eyebrow.

“Uh, sure,” Kise flashed him what he hoped was a brilliant and not-the-least-bit guilty smile.

“You can put your wet clothes on top of the hamper,” the taller man said, opening the door to his room.  As the note had hinted, the room was a complete and utter pigsty.  There were jerseys strewn about, school books haphazardly thrown on his desk and floor, all open to various pages, and there was even a sock hanging over his lampshade.  But worst of all, there was a giant pile of magazines filling the trashcan and then continuing twice the bin’s height above it.  The pile looked ready to fall over if someone so much as breathed too close to it.

“Where is the hamper…exactly?” Kise asked, golden eyes blinking.

“Don’t be an ass,” Aomine frowned at him.  “It’s right over-” he turned and then frowned.  Aomine trudged through the sea of clothing that was his floor and moved his comforter, which was not on the bed, of course.  “See,” he pointed to a blue plastic laundry hamper.

“Of course, how silly of me,” the blond tried his best not to roll his eyes.

“Anyway,” the tan man said as he pulled his wet shirt off and over his head, tossing it into the basket.  “I’m taking first shower.”

“Hey now,” Kise drew his brows down and pouted.  “Aominecchi, you should offer the first shower to me,” he crossed his arms over his chest.  “I’m the guest.”

“Yeah, but you’ll take forever,” Aomine said matter-of-factly.  “You’re the only person I know who follows the ‘repeat’ direction religiously on the bottle of shampoo.”  Kise’s jaw dropped in mock indignation.  “Besides, I’m sure you brought whatever girly shit you use and I don’t want to shower in a bathroom that smells like piña colada, thank you.”

“It’s tropical coconut splash…” the blond said dejectedly.

“Same difference,” he scratched the back of his head.  “Anyway, I’ll only be a minute.”  He walked into the ensuite bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Kise huffed for a moment and then sighed.  Aomine would probably only take a minute anyway.  He shook his head and reached for the hem of his soaked shirt, but something caught his eye.  He turned toward the tower of magazines threatening to spill of out of Aomine’s trash bin.  The one on the very top was from a few weeks ago.  The girl on the cover certainly suited the navy-haired man’s taste, but Kise wondered if the Touou ace realized that Kise had been featured in this issue as well.

Forgetting his soaking clothes, he walked over and picked the magazine up, flipping through it to the familiar page.  But when he reached it, he frowned.  The page was missing.  He was sure he remembered which page his photo had been on.  Kise had at least ten copies of every magazine he’d ever been in.  He shrugged and moved to put the magazine down, but he stopped when the saw the next one on the pile.

“Oh, this is the one that has my sparkling juice ad,” he beamed and reached for it.  He flipped to the page and couldn’t believe his eyes.  The ad wasn’t there.  “What is going on here?”

He grabbed the next magazine, another familiar one, and flipped to where he knew he had a photo spread, but again, much to his chagrin, the page was missing.  He searched through two more magazines and encountered the same problem.  Wherever his photo was supposed to be, it wasn’t.  It wasn’t until the last issue he tried that he noticed something.  There was still a little bit of the page remaining near the bottom of the magazine.

The pages weren’t missing.  They’d been torn out.

“…why?”  He frowned.  He remembered earlier when Aomine had torn his cover page off to fold the paper crane.  How the tan man had shown no remorse for ruining the magazine.  Even if he had created something beautiful from it.  “Does he hate it that much?”  Kise felt horrible.  Sure Aomine teased him about his modeling, but he didn’t think he disliked it.  And he certainly didn’t think he disliked it to the point of tearing his ads out of magazines.

“Or maybe it’s me…” Kise realized.  It wasn’t the modeling or the ads.  “Aominecchi can’t stand the sight of me…” he looked down as his vision became clouded.  Soon big, fat drops started to fall, making pitter-patters on the pages of the magazines now cluttering the floor near the trash bin. 

Kise didn’t want to be here anymore.  He stood up and quickly walked out of the room.  He wanted to be out of the apartment before Aomine finished his shower.  He grabbed his bag and slipped on his soggy shoes before pushing the door open and dashing out.

“I’m such an idiot,” he reached up and held a palm to his eye, trying both to hold back the tears and scrub them away.  “He didn’t even really want to play one-on-one today…I’m just forcing myself on him.”  He felt like a fool.  Aomine had always openly insulted him.  He was foolish to think those words had held any sentiment other than annoyance.

The rain had stopped, but some drops still fell from store overhangs and the streetlights, which were now starting to illuminate to brighten the steadily darkening street.  He walked by a newsstand just as the owner was placing the papers and magazines back out, now that the rain had ceased.  He stopped when he saw a familiar face.  His face.

“I guess I could buy another copy to replace the one Aominecchi ruined,” he sighed, thinking of the beautiful crane that the taller man had made.  Then his eyes widened.  He’d completely forgotten about the paper crane from the train station.  They’d been in such a hurry to get out of the rain, that they’d shoved the ball into his duffel.  He set the bag down and unzipped it, carefully extracting the basketball and hoping that the delicate origami crane was unharmed.

“Thank goodness,” he held a hand to his chest as the other pulled the immaculate paper crane from the bag.  It really was folded perfectly.  “Just like Aominecchi’s…” he felt bad for leaving all of a sudden without saying a word.  Maybe it was just a misunderstanding.  Maybe Aomine had ripped more pages out than just his.  Maybe it was a coincidence.  “And maybe Murasakibaracchi will run the Tokyo Marathon,” he groused. 

He shouldered his bag and continued walking toward the station.  He turned the crane over in his hands, taking in every detail.  Suddenly, something stuck out to him.  On the very tip of the crane’s tail, he noticed a familiar golden color.  The same color he saw in the mirror every day.  Forgetting his vow to uphold the crane’s pristine condition, he carefully unfolded it and gaped.  The gold was the very same color of his eyes.  Well, that’s because it was his eye.  This crane had been made out of one of his photos.

Kise blinked in confusion.  This crane and the one at the restaurant.  They weren’t the same.  They weren’t the same photo either.  Then he thought back to the magazines upon magazines with missing pages in Aomine’s bedroom.  He turned and started walking back to the apartment.  Aomine had some explaining to do.

Kise knocked continuously until a towel-clad, still damp and aggravated-looking Aomine answered the door. 

“Kise?” he blinked. “How did you get outside?”

“What is the meaning of this?” the blond ignored his question and held up the bent picture of himself.

“Someone sat on one of your magazines?” the tan man offered.  Kise huffed and pushed past him into the apartment.

“Why is this crane made from a photo of me?” he demanded.

“Oh, is that the one from the restaurant?” Aomine closed the front door and hiked up his towel before walking past the blond and toward his bedroom.  “You were there Kise,” he went on, “I showed you how to make one, remember?”

“Yes, well that makes perfect sense, but,” Kise followed him, “this is not the crane you made,” he shook the photo again, as if to prove it.  “This is the crane I found in the train station.”  Aomine froze, still facing away.  Kise could almost hear the other man swallow.  “What’s going on, Aominecchi?”  He asked, but received no answer.  “And why do you seem to have every magazine I’ve ever been in, but none of my photos?”  Again, no response.  “Do you think I’m so ugly that you can’t bear to look at me?”

“No!” Aomine turned around, eyes wide.  “I mean,” he looked down, clearing his throat, “you’re not ugly.”

“Then why did you rip my pictures out of all of those magazines?” he gestured toward the pile.  “And why did you fold this into a crane?” he held it up again.  “This was you, too, right?” he asked.  “I recognized the perfect folding technique you used earlier.”

“Kise, it’s not…uh…” the navy-haired man swallowed again.

“Why do you keep ruining my photos?” the blond demanded, brows drawn down.  “I know you’re trying to make your wish come true by folding a thousand, but did you have to reach your goal by deliberately ruining my pictures?”

“Yes,” Aomine answered so quietly, that Kise barely heard him.

“What?” the model blinked.

“I never thought of it as ruining your pictures,” he continued.  “But I didn’t think my wish would come true unless the pictures were of you.”  Kise didn’t know what to say.  They were silent for a moment.  Finally, Kise gathered the courage to ask.

“Aominecchi,” he got the taller man’s attention.  “What are you wishing for?”  Navy eyes met his and Kise could swear there was a light blush dusting the tanned man’s cheeks.  Aomine answered, but Kise didn’t quite catch it.   “What?”

“You,” Aomine said again.  This time the blush was obvious.

“Me?” Kise's hand dropped to his side, his picture slipping out of his fingers and falling to the ground.  “H-How exactly am I your wish?”

“You heard Satsuki,” the taller man looked away.  “We tried folding them as kids, but then gave up,” he walked over and sat down on his unmade bed.  “I didn’t start folding them again until the second year of middle school.”  He looked up at Kise and then back down.  “That’s when I met you.”

“So, what, um,” Kise began, suddenly feeling embarrassed.  He could try and deal with an Aomine who hated him.  But he wasn’t sure how to deal with an Aomine who wanted him.  “What is it that you wanted from me?”

“It’s kind of embarrassing to admit it now,” Aomine busied himself with plucking at a loose string on his bedsheets.

“More embarrassing than what you’ve already told me?” Kise asked with an awkward chuckle.  Aomine didn’t answer him.  “C’mon,” he tried again, “what’s more embarrassing than a person finding out that you have nine-hundred and nine-eight paper cranes made from his face?”

“Nine-hundred and ninety-nine,” Aomine corrected.  “If you count the one you unfolded.”

“Ah,” the blond looked down at his distorted face smiling back up at him from the ground.  “Well, what could be more embarrassing than that?”  He asked. 

“It’s dumb.”

“Just tell me,” Kise urged.  Aomine gave a huge sigh.

“I wanted a kiss.”

“A kiss?” the blond blinked, eyes wide.  “You folded nearly one thousand cranes just because you wanted me to kiss you?”  Aomine nodded.  “That’s really all you wanted from me?” He smiled and waggled his eyebrows.  Aomine's head snapped up, a blush adorning his features.

“Hey, we were fourteen!” he growled.  “It’s not like I knew two guys could do it back then,” he looked away again.  Kise thought that he looked pretty cute all flustered like that.  “Anyway,” he continued, “you can’t change the wish in the middle, so…”

“So, Aominecchi wants more than just a kiss from me?” Kise asked, walking toward the other man.  Aomine’s silence was answer enough.  “I’m sorry I never noticed,” he reached down and put a hand on either side of Aomine’s head, turning his face toward him.  He leaned down and brushed their lips together in a chaste kiss.  He was amazed at how soft Aomine’s were.  Kise felt the other man stiffen.  “Sorry,” the blond pulled away.  “I guess I should have asked first.”

“It’s not that,” the tanned man was facing away from him, his face burning.

“Then what…?”

“I just realized that I’m still naked,” Aomine answered, gripping at the frayed end of the towel wrapped around his waist.

“Oh,” Kise laughed and leaned in to kiss his cheek.  “Why don’t you get dressed and I’ll go take a shower,” he suggested and Aomine nodded.  “And,” he added when he reached the door to the bathroom.  “Since I messed up the goal you’ve been working toward for two years, I’ll help you refold number nine-hundred and ninety-nine and then, once you’ve reached one thousand, I’ll help you come up with a new wish,” he winked and closed the door behind him.

~*~_~*~OMAKE~*~_~*~

Aomine considered himself to be pretty lucky.  He got to play basketball whenever he wanted and he was naturally good at it.  His father was friends with the man who ran the newsstand down the street, so he was always the first to get the newest issue of anything featuring Horikita Mai.  And he had finally gotten his wish.

With interest.

Kise stirred next to him, more of his pale skin becoming visible as the sheet fell to the side.  The blond gave a contented sigh and cuddled closer to him.  Aomine could feel the length of the shorter man’s body brush up against his.  The warm skin was still slightly damp from their earlier activities.  Aomine leaned down and rested his forehead against Kise’s.

“Aomi…necchi?” the blond blinked and looked up at him.  “Did I fall asleep?”

“Yeah,” Aomine ran a hand through Kise’s hair, marveling at its softness.  Perhaps that piña colada crap wasn’t so bad after all.  “You can go back to sleep if you want.”

“What time is it?” Kise sat up and reached for his phone, but Aomine wrapped his arms around the blond’s middle and tried to pull him back down.  “I’m just checking the time,” Kise giggled and then laughed in earnest when Aomine nuzzled his side and gave a nip to the sensitive flesh just above his hipbone.  “Ao…t-tickles!” The blond swatted at him, but missed.

“S’not like you have anywhere to be,” the tanned man murmured against his skin.

“Yes, but didn’t your mom’s note say that-”

“Dai-chan, my mom said to bring over some food for you-OH MY GOD!” Momoi dropped the container she was carrying and covered her eyes.  “I’m so sorry, Ki-chan,” she gasped, one hand covering her face and the other reaching blindly for the door, so she could leave the room and shut it.  “Sorry!” she squeaked again and left the room.

Both men were silent for a moment.

“Well, I suppose now we don’t have to worry about how to tell her,” Kise bit his lip to keep from laughing.  Aomine just reached under the sheet.  “Hey!” the blond slapped his hand.  “Momocchi is right outside!”

“So?”  Navy eyes stared up at him.

“Aho-minecchi…” Kise shook his head.

“What did you just-”

“But I suppose that’s what I like most about you,” the model smiled and bent down to kiss him.

~*~_~*~OMAKE 2~*~_~*~

“So, Aominecchi, where have you been keeping almost a thousand paper cranes?” Kise asked as he pulled his shirt over his head.

“Oh, I’ve got them stacked in the closet,” Aomine pointed past a pile of dirty clothes.  “But I wouldn’t open-” but he was too late.  Kise’s curiosity had gotten the better of him and his hand was on the knob and twisting before he heard Aomine’s warning.  A veritable plethora of cranes fell out and onto the model’s face, nearly knocking him over.  “-the door.”

**Author's Note:**

> The cup sizes of the girls who walked by: 32DDD and 34F (I know, right?)
> 
> I hope you liked this! I didn't know how to end it. All the omakes!!
> 
> I know I normally write smut, but I wanted to write something with my usual fluff and without my usual, well, you know.
> 
> Constructive criticism is always appreciated!


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